Juan José Cobo Acebo (born 21 February 1981 in Torrelavega,

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

) is a retired

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

professional

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most comm ...

. He won the 2011 Vuelta a España as a rider, his first and only major title but in July 2019 he was stripped of this title after being found guilty of doping by the UCI. He was considered a climber who also is able to time trial. On 13 June 2019, the UCI stated that Cobo had been found guilty of a doping violation, based on his

biological passport An athlete biological passport is an individual electronic record for professional athletes, in which profiles of biological markers of doping and results of doping tests are collated over a period of time. Doping violations can be detected by ...

data.

Biography

In 2003, Cobo won the Spanish under-23 time-trial championships. He was selected for the national team in the European Championships, in Athens in August, and for the World Championships in Hamilton, Canada, in October. At the European Championships, he finished fourth, 30 seconds behind the winner Markus Fothen. At the World Championships, he participated, with Isidro Nozal, in the time-trial in which he took the 33rd place. In September, he joined the professional team Vini Caldirola as a trainee. In 2004, Cobo became professional in the new Spanish team , led by Mauro Gianetti, manager of Vini Caldirola in 2003 . His best result this season was ninth place in the

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

. In 2005, he participated in his first grand tour, the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

. In 2007, he won the Tour of the Basque Country, taking two stage victories in the process. He grabbed the leader's jersey on the first stage, which he won, and had to relinquish it to 's Ángel Vicioso on Stage 3. Another victory on stage 5 netted him the overall lead once again and he did resist the time trial on stage 6 to take the Tour's honors. Cobo then participated in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

with hopes for a stage victory. That did not materialize, but he finished the Tour in 20th position. In 2008, still with Saunier Duval, he made a quieter start to the season but finished second in the

Hautacam stage, behind his teammate

Leonardo Piepoli Leonardo Piepoli (born 29 September 1971 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland) is a former Italy, Italian professional Bicycle road racing, road racing cyclist. He most recently rode for on the UCI ProTour, but had his contract suspended in July 20 ...

. Despite this strong performance, in what was the first major mountain stage of the Tour de France, Cobo was forced to leave the Tour with his team following the positive control of the Italian Riccardo Riccò. He later was attributed the stage win since Piepoli has been stripped of it for doping. Saunier Duval became Scott-American Beef late in the season, but this team was not invited to the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

. The team became Fuji-Servetto at the beginning of the 2009 season. Cobo stayed faithful, which allowed him to assume responsibility as a team leader, finishing 10th at the

where he also won a stage. He did not participate in the Tour de France as his team was not invited by the organizers. He represented Spain in the 2009 UCI Road World Championships – Men's time trial in Mendrisio. In 2011, his team started the

with a wildcard invitation. Cobo was selected to ride the race as a helper for team leader

Denis Menchov Denis Nikolayevich Menshov (often mistakenly romanized as Menchov, ; born 25 January 1978) is a former professional Russian road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 2000 and 2013. He was best known as a general classification rider ...

. After winning the 15th stage on the steep ascent of the Angliru he became the leader of both the race and his team. Cobo kept the lead for the rest of the race resisting attacks by Chris Froome who finished second by just 13 seconds. Especially fierce was the attack Froome produced in the last kilometer of the seventeenth stage, Cobo was dropped for some time before he rallied and made the juncture very shortly before the finish line. After folded at the end of 2011, Cobo joined for the 2012 season. He had a year without victories, participating in the

and landing a 30th general classification placing. He was slated to be his team's leader at the

to defend his title, but the leadership was soon shifted to

Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born 25 April 1980) is a Spanish cyclist, who competed as a professional in road bicycle racing from 2002 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2022, and now competes in gravel cycling for the Movistar Team Gravel Squad. During ...

, after the latter performed better than Cobo in the early stages. Cobo helped Valverde finish in second position, while he finished 67th. Cobo left the at the end of the 2013 season, and joined for the 2014 season. He retired after that season. On 18 June 2019, due to findings from his

, which indicated use of performance-enhancing drugs, Cobo was stripped of his Vuelta victory as well as all other results between 29 August 2009 and 27 September 2009 as well as between 20 August 2011 and 11 September 2011, meaning he also lost his 10th place at the 2009 Vuelta. As Cobo did not appeal within 30 days, he was also stripped of his 2011 Vuelta win on 18 July 2019.

Career achievements

Major results

;2003 : 1st

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, National Under–23 Road Championships : 1st Stage 5b ( ITT)

Vuelta a Navarra The Vuelta a Navarra is a road cycling stage race held annually since 1941 in the Autonomous community of Navarra, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in N ...

;2004 : 9th

;2005 : 10th Coppa Placci ;2007 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Tour of the Basque Country ::1st Stages 1 & 5 : 3rd Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León : 3rd

Subida a Urkiola Subida a Urkiola is a one-day cycling race in Durango, Biscay in the Basque Country whose starts in Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

: 5th Gran Premio Miguel Indurain : 9th

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège , also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Cycling monument, Monuments'' of the Eur ...

;2008 : 1st Stage 10

: 2nd

: 4th Overall Volta a Portugal ::1st Stage 9 : 6th Overall

Vuelta a Burgos Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos (province), Burgos province of Spain. The men's Vuelta a Burgos has been a multi-day stage race as part of the UCI Europe Tour since 2005. In ...

::1st Stage 5 ;2009 : 9th

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

: 10th Overall
Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...
::~~1st Stage 19~~ : 10th Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León ::1st Stage 4 ;2011 : 1st Overall
Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...
::~~1st Combination classification~~ ::~~1st Stage 15~~ : 3rd Trofeo Deià : 3rd Overall

: 8th Trofeo Inca : 9th Memorial Marco Pantani ;2014 : 6th Overall Tour of Turkey

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

*
Cycling News Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobo, Juan Jose 1981 births Cyclists from Cantabria Living people Sportspeople from Torrelavega Spanish Vuelta a España stage winners Spanish male cyclists 21st-century Spanish sportsmen